In all of the following instances, terms describing relative positions such a s, for example, “front” and “above,” are premised on the assumption that the described firearm is ready to fire in the usual shooting position wherein the muzzle is in “front” and the sighting device is “above”.
In the 19th century it was known to drill into firearm cartridge chamber as was done for the Beaulieu rifle, Model 1854, used by the bodyguards of the French king. In this rifle, a finger spring, which extends into the cartridge chamber from above, holds the cartridge chamber fixed when the breech is open and prevents the cartridge from sliding out. Only 200 men were equipped with this weapon and it is not known whether this cartridge finger spring mounting proved worthwhile. This rifle was designed for Lefaucheux cartridges, which were also called pinfire cartridges.
Such a cartridge mounting mechanism is also used in the weapon that forms the generic concept, (i.e. the rifle disclosed in German patent DE 32 775). In this type of mounting arrangement, however, the cartridge holder is constructed as a pivoting lever and extends to the top. The extending lever projects out of the cartridge chamber and forms an indicator element that can be seen or felt on the upper side of the weapon.
German patent DE 32 775, published in 1885, assumes a black powder shot gun. The German patent refers exclusively to Lefaucheux cartridges (i.e., pinfire cartridges), which are loaded exclusively with black powder and, at that time, were known only for shot guns and small arms. In particular, the shot gun cartridges had a gas pressure that was very small in comparison to the gas pressure of modern pistol cartridges.
Similar loading indicators are known from 1921 (DE 334 041) and 1934 (U.S. Pat. No., 1,992,934). The German prior art document proposes laying the cartridge feeler in the collar area of a rifle cartridge. The design disclosed in the German patent may result in jamming, a situation in which the closed cartridge case can no longer be removed from the chamber, assuming the weapon does not fail during shooting. The US prior art document shows a small caliber rifle having a quite small gas pressure. In it, the weapon may indeed function properly during weapon firing, but removal of cartridges will likely prove problematic due to the loading indicator.
As early as the 1900, extractors were used as loading indicators in the Parabellum pistols, which were built in Germany as ordinance until 1942. This loading indicator was mounted on the top and was clearly visible to the side. The assignee of the present patent, until now, used a similar loading indicator to the Parabellum pistol. Drawbacks to this loading indicator include the fact that the loading indicator protrudes only slightly from the weapon and such a protrusion is on the side of the weapon.
Other loading indicators are also known, such as the loading indicator of the Walther PP, PPK, and P38 pistols. However, these loading indicator arrangements require a drilled hole through the slide ending in the breechblock, the use of a long structural part, and a separate, dedicated spring. This loading indicator can either only be practically observed when the pistol is in hand, as with the Walther pistols, or the loading indicator prevents the drawing of the weapon, as in the Sauer and Sohn model 1938 pistol.